The present invention relates to a method and composition for the treatment of alcoholism. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method that utilizes a composition comprised of two medications to treat alcohol abuse and improve patient compliance with treatment programs.
Alcoholism is a severe disease. The deaths of over 105,000 Americans each year and over one million persons worldwide are attributed to this disease. Despite the existence of a variety of treatment programs, success rates for treating alcoholism are relatively low, usually in the 20% to 30% range after one year of abstinence. Yet, even these figures may underestimate the difficulty of treating alcoholism, since many individuals are unwilling to enter into any alcohol treatment program.
The typical treatment of alcoholism has sometimes involved the use of drug therapy. Disulfiram, also known as Antabuse, has been widely used since the early 1950's in the treatment of alcoholism. Disulfiram causes a strong adverse reaction in a person within five to fifteen minutes after the person has consumed alcohol. Side-effects are believed to be minimal, and life-threatening reactions with or without alcohol are very rare. Unfortunately, disulfiram therapy has resulted in only modest success in treating alcoholism. In a recent large scale, multi-center study by the Veterans Administration (VA), the one-year abstinence rate for patients on disulfiram (18%) was no better than for the control group (20%), but disulfiram patients had significantly more days of sobriety. Typically, patients cease taking the disulfiram and discontinue treatment, resulting in a relapse in alcohol abuse.
One drug that is commonly used for alcohol detoxification, but not for therapy, is diazepam, a member of the benzodiazepine family of somewhat habit-forming, anti-anxiety medications. Diazepam appears to decrease cravings for alcohol. A significant disadvantage, however, with using diazepam is that alcoholics, after only a short period of time, frequently relapse into drinking while continuing to take diazepam. Further treatment of the alcohol abuse is subsequently discontinued.
Although initially effective, existing pharmacological therapies fail to provide adequate treatment for long-term and severe alcohol abuse. Accordingly, an alternative approach for the treatment of alcoholics would be useful in improving abstinence from alcohol.